Kula's Game of Love
by The candy man 234
Summary: Collaboration with Rouge Lion. Kula sets up a competition for three of the Pride Land's bachelors, Simba, Tojo, and Chumvi to win a date with Nala. Simba already enjoys winning competitions, but he feels an unexplainable drive to win the date. But Simba and Nala are just friends, right? Or is there something more there?.
1. A Prize to be Won

**AN: I know what you must be thinking. An original story from the candy man 234 that isn't a parody how strange!** **Well, It's the month of love, February. I still have no date or any significant other to share, but I still have my friends so I won't be too lonely**

 **Also a big thank you goes out to Rouge Lions who collaborated with me to make this story. That's why some of the writing** **may seem different. I highly recommend checking out his stories they are super, awesome, spectacular, incredible works of genius! Anyways on with this adventure.**

It was another bright, sunny day in the Pride Lands. Birds were tweeting the sky was clear and nothing could possibly go wrong.

Nala was padding up to the den to investigate where her friend, Kula had gone. When she got to her den, she was surprised to see not only the brown lioness cub but also a large stack of meat lying in the middle of the den.

"What the?" Nala said. Kula turned around to see her friend.

"Nala!" Kula greeted with a grin, "Just the gal I was looking for!"

"Kula…" Nala gasped, "Where did you get all of this food? Did your mom get donations from the hunting party?"

"Heh, nope." Kula said with a grin, "I got this all on my own."

"Really?" Nala looked back at her friend. She always knew Kula had her way with food just never to this extent "How?"

"I made a deal with the hunting party." Kula said with a confident tone in her voice, "They get me a day's worth of food and I give them some… entertainment."

This got Nala intrigued.

"What kind of entertainment?" she asked.

"You know how all the adults like to gush over us cubs, right?" Kula explained, "So I decided to put on a competition for the male cubs to compete for one lucky lioness to go on a date with them."

"Ooooh. Sounds juicy." Nala said in an intrigued tone. She hated to admit it, but she enjoyed a bit of romance and drama from time to time; a trait she no doubt inherited from her mother.

"So," Nala asked, "Who's the lucky lioness?"

"Well…" Kula began slowly as she nervously scratched the back of her head with her paw. She had to tell her sooner or later: "It's actually… um… well… you, Nala."

"Wait… WHAT?!" Nala screamed so loud that it echoed through the den and out to the Pride Lands, causing some nearby birds to fly off in fright.

"Nuh-uh." Nala shook her head, "No way, Kula. You can't just auction me off to a bunch of guys like some prize. And what's worse… I'm just learning about it!"

"Come on, Nala, it's not a big deal." Kula said in a relaxed tone, trying to shrug off the situation like it was nothing, "The lionesses were getting bored, so I decided to entertain them, and you're perfect for the part." Though Kula seemed confident, Nala wasn't convinced.

Nala pulled a frown and turned her back to Kula before stomping off out of the den, leaving a trail of dust from how hard she was stepping.

"Nala! Wait!" Kula called out as she ran after her friend.

"I can't believe you would use me for food, I thought you were better than that," Nala sighed as Kula got in front of her.

"Please help me, Nala," Kula pleaded, "None of the other cubs in the Pride Lands want to help me. You're my only hope!" Nala continued to ignore her and began to walk off, not caring about her friend's trouble. Kula then, in a desperate attempt to keep Nala from leaving, jumped on her back, pinning her to the ground.

"Gah!" Nala gasped as she was pinned, "Kula! Get off!"

"Please!" Kula begged, now in a desperate voice, "You don't understand, Nala! If I don't give them a show, they'll want their food back! Did you see how much meat is in that den, Nala? Such a holy sight only comes once in a lifetime! I don't think I can give it all back. I don't think I can part with i-i-i-iiiiiiiit…" Kula then began to sob at the thought of having to give away all that precious meat.

As Nala laid in the grass, she looked up at her crying friend with a look that shouted, "really?" She still wasn't convinced, which told Kula that she needed to try harder.

"I-If you do it," she begged with tears in her eyes, "I'll… I'll give half of the food to you! Just, please! Don't let them take it all awaaaaay!"

This caused Nala to look at her friend with surprise. She knew that Kula would only offer food if she was truly desperate. Whether it was her kind-hearted spirit of the fact that she just wanted Kula to stop crying, she decided to go along with this plan.

"Ugh… Fine." Nala groaned, causing Kula to stop crying and get off of her friend. "If I agree to do this, you have to give me half of your stash. Deal?"

Kula didn't answer. Instead, she flashed a big toothy smile and pulled Nala in for a bear hug, taking her by surprise.

"THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU!" Kula exclaimed with glee. This was it! She was going to give the lionesses a show and keep her precious meat!

"Kula…" Nala said gasping for air due to being constricted by Kula's grip, "Choking… not breathing!"

"Oh sorry!" Kula said letting go of Nala. Nala dropped to the floor of the den taking in deep breaths.

"I promise, Nala, you won't regret this!" Kula said bounding out of the den happily.

As Nala watched her friend leave the den, she couldn't help but think to herself: "What have you gotten yourself into now, Nala?"

* * *

By the time the sun was at its highest point in the sky the lionesses had gathered around the waterhole to wait for Kula's competition to start. Some relaxed in the shade of the trees while others waded in the water to cool down. All the while they watched as Kula prepared the stage for the contestants; which they all found to be adorable. Kula had fashioned a makeshift stage by tying a vine between two trees and attaching a curtain of banana leaves to use as a curtain. It seemed that the entire pride was anticipating what Kula had in store for them.

All but Sarafina that is. Sarafina was the only lioness that noticed that the cubs always seemed to get into some sort of trouble. Varying from disputes with each other, to messing with other animals, to being chased by a legendary river monster that she didn't even know existed until a couple weeks ago. They always seemed to be up to something and knowing Kula… this was either going to be a treat or a disaster waiting to happen.

"Attention everyone!" Kula called out from on stage, gaining the attention of the lionesses and breaking Sarafina's train of thought, "I have gathered you all today to test the strength, speed, and wits of the Pride Lands' eligible bachelors!" Kula said. She tugged at a vine with her teeth, causing the curtain of leaves to fall to the ground revealing Chumvi, Tojo, and Simba sitting on individual rocks.

All three boys didn't look too enthusiastic about being a part of the show

"Why are we here again?" Simba asked, causing all the adults to awe at the sight. Tojo just shrugged at Simba's comment. All he knew was that Kula threatened his birds if he didn't show up.

"I don't know about you guys, but only did this because she promised me food." Chumvi bluntly stated. Kula sighed with annoyance and walked over to a stash of zebra legs. She tore off a piece of meat and chucked it a Chumvi. Chumvi leaped up from his spot on the rock and caught the piece in his mouth chewing slowly and then swallowing.

"Mmmmm…" Chumvi sighed in pleasure, "Extra rare." He then began lounging on the rock as he waited for… whatever it was that Kula was doing.

"Alright enough out of you." Kula snapped back at Chumvi before looking back at the audience with a bright toothy smile, "Now these boys aren't just competing for nothing." Kula turned back to the lionesses, "They are competing for a date with one of the Pride Lands' most beautiful, most elegant, most astonishing cub this side of the Savannah."

This got the attention of both the boys and the lionesses.

"Oh no," Sarafina said drawing the attention of Sarabi.

"What, Saffy?" Sarabi confused by her uneasiness.

"If I know Kula, that beautiful cub is-,"

"Come on out Nala!" Kula interrupted Sarafina's statement.

"WHAT?!" The three boys screamed in total shock. Turning their heads to see Nala sheepishly walk out onto the makeshift stage. Nala had groomed herself for the occasion making her coat stand out from the dirty coats of the boys.

"Do you have anything to say?" Kula asked Nala.

"Yeah…" Nala said in a hushed voice, "Is it too late to back out n-" Kula smacked her paws over Nala's muzzle silencing her before the others in the crowd could hear her complaint.

"Hehe, hehe," Kula awkwardly laughed, "She's only joking right, Nala."

Nala shook her head no with Kula's paws still on her mouth. Kula glared at her friend, to which Nala decided to play along and nod. This caused the adults to smile and awe, all except Sarafina, who didn't quite know how to process all of this.

"Well you know what It's time for the first part of the competition," Kula said, trying to move things along, "Follow me!" Kula then walked from the stage and into the grasslands.

The crowd of lionesses and the cubs all walked from the waterhole to the gorge. The gorge was almost like a canyon that was carved by an ancient river that dried out years ago. The two walls of the gorge were far apart with large bumps and pillars of rocks scattered through the pathway.

Kula had stopped walked at the start of the gorge with the crowd just behind her. She then lined up the boys at the starting line that she drew in the dirt. Before she could explain the first challenge of the game Simba pulled her aside.

"Kula, you didn't tell us that we would be competing for a date with… Nala." Simba whispered.

"Relax, golden boy, it's only one date with her," Kula responded.

"But...she's my best friend I can't just date her. It would be too weird!" Simba shot back.

"Is that really why? Or do you like her?" Kula teased Simba. Simba lightly brushed under his fur hoping that Kula wouldn't notice.

"What?! No!" Simba snapped back, but Kula wasn't convinced.

"Suuuuure…" Kula rolled her eyes and making a skeptical expression, "just line up with the other slobs- I mean, boys."

Simba groaned and walked over to the starting line. That's when Chumvi noticed Simba's attitude.

"What'd she say?" Chumvi asked. Simba didn't look up at Chumvi.

"It's nothing, but doesn't it seem a bit weird that the prize for this is a date with Nala?" Simba asked as he got into position.

"No, not really," Chumvi shrugged. Simba sighed and looked up to see Kula at the starting line.

"Okay here's the challenge." Kula announced to everyone, "You will race from here to the dead end of the gorge. The first cub to arrive gets 3 points towards their total. The second cub gets 2 points and the last gets 1 point," The three bachelors took their starting positions and Kula raised her paw.

"Ready…" Kula started, "Set…...Go!" Simba shot forward gaining a head start leaving a cloud of dust.

Once the boys were gone from the starting point, Kula looked at Tojo's bluebirds.

"You guys go find out who wins," Kula instructed. One of the birds saluted and they took off for the end of the gorge.

The hot sun beat down on Simba as he continued his lead in front of the two others. The dust on the ground formed clouds and danced in the heated air. Simba kept his mind concentrated on winning the game. He didn't know why he felt such a drive to win a date with Nala. She was his best friend after all. Maybe one hour alone with her would be so bad.

 _"Wait did I just say I liked the idea of a date with Nala!?"_ Simba thought to himself. Simba then lost his concentration causing his fore paws to trip over a notch in the ground. The young prince face planted into the dirt causing Chumvi and Tojo to pass him.

Simba picked himself up and continued to run as fast as he could. Looking up he saw the dead end of the gorge approaching quickly.

With all his might, Simba burst into a sprint going as fast as his legs could carry him. Simba's sudden sprint caused him to pass Tojo. Simba tried his best to catch up to Chumvi but he was too late.

Chumvi crossed the finish line first, Simba second and Tojo third. The boys skidded to a halt panting and almost gasping for air.

"Simba…I had no idea… you could run that fast," Tojo said in between heavy breaths.

"Well I guess I just wanted to win," Simba responded.

"Is that all to the story, Simba," Chumvi raised his eyebrow.

"What? Do you think I would want to go on a date with Nala?" Simba rebutted.

Chumvi and Tojo exchanged glances with each other. Both knowing that Simba was lying to them and himself.

"You guys are nuts!" Simba rolled his eyes and he walked back to the starting point to rejoin the lionesses.

"Was it something I said?" Tojo asked Chumvi.

"Who cares," Chumvi replied, "Now… where's Kula with another zebra leg?"

* * *

 **Sunset**

After dinner, the lionesses regrouped in front of Kula's makeshift stage. Kula had announced the status of each of the boys. She then used her claws to draw a large grid on a tree and gave tally marks to represent the points that each cub had.

All the while Simba stared blankly contemplating what had happened that day.

 _"Why was I so motivated to win this stupid game?"_ Simba thought to himself, _"It isn't too weird to be with Nala for an extended amount of time. It'll be just like exploring or going to the waterhole. Right?"_

By the time the sun had fully disappeared beneath the horizon the lionesses had dispersed from the site of Kula's makeshift stage to go back to the den.

As Simba settled in the den to sleep with his parents, he found that he was unintentionally staring at where Nala slept with her mother. That's when the cold hard reality of this situation dawned on him.

 _"Oh, Great Kings…"_ Simba thought, _"I have a crush on my best friend!_

 **AN: yay 1st chapter out. I feel like this is going to be a fun story to write. Once again thank you to Rouge Lion for the collaboration I strongly recommend reading his stories. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.**


	2. Higher Stakes

**AN: Sorry for getting this chapter out later than usual but Rouge Lion and I were busy with school stuff. And then I jacked up my leg witch now has a massive bruise on it but life goes on.**

 **A big thank you goes out to All the reviewers of my stories you really help me keep writing on this site and it's appreciated. (Also to answer a question I got I usually update every 7-9 days with a week in between stories)**

 **Shout out again to Rouge Lion who is collaborating with me to write this story go check out his work it's awesome.**

By the next morning Simba headed out to meet Chumvi and Tojo by the waterhole. It wouldn't be long until the lionesses return from the afternoon hunt… and Kula would start up the next stage in this 'competition'.

When Tojo and Chumvi saw the golden prince approach, they could tell that he had a rough night. Simba's eyes hung low and he dragged his paws as he walked. They knew he had trouble sleeping last night, but it still surprised them to see Simba in such an exhausted state.

"Rough night?" Chumvi asked noticing Simba's appearance.

"Something like that," Simba said with a yawn.

"Fretting over how badly you're going to lose today?" Chumvi teases.

"Ha Ha," Simba laughed sarcastically, "The only reason you won was that I tripped. You're both going down today."

"Oooh, sounds like someone is determined to win… a fair lady's heart." Said, Tojo, as he held his paw over his chest dramatically.

"Pffft! Please." Simba said with a scoff, "I'm just trying to remind you guys why I'm the best in the group." Simba was of course lying. The real reason he wanted to win was… well… he didn't think he could take seeing Nala going on a date with either of his friends. He had just realized last night that he had a crush on her. Who could blame him though? Nala had all the traits that would make anyone fall for her. She was smart and feisty, but caring and sweet at the same time. Not to mention an extra bonus for being pretty.

"Um… Simba?" Tojo asked, noticing Simba suddenly started staring off into the distance absently. Still, there was no response.

"Simba?" Chumvi followed his friend's example but still, there was no answer. Seeing how this was getting them nowhere, Chumvi walked up behind Simba and shoved him into the waterhole.

"AHHHHHH!" Simba jumped a couple feet into the air before landing in front of Chumvi and Tojo with his fur soaking wet, "what was that for!" Simba glared at Chumvi his claws partially extended.

"You were in your own little world bro. I had to get your attention somehow," Chumvi said, "Plus, the lionesses are returning with lunch so you better stop staring off into space so often otherwise you'll definitely lose."

Simba just glared at his friends as if the phrase only agitated him… though frankly… he was freaking out on the inside. He definitely did not want to lose this game. Chumvi would hold it over his head for as long as he lived! On top of that, he would lose a date with Nala, which by this point was out of the question in Simba's mind.

 _"Remember, Simba."_ He said to himself as he walked off with Tojo and Chumvi, _"Play it cool so that Nala won't notice," The last person that Simba would want knowing about his secret was Nala. It would definitely ruin their friendship._

Meanwhile, on the other side of the waterhole, Nala sat by the edge of the water looking at her reflection. She didn't know what was troubling her but she felt an almost pleasant ache every time that she looked at the group of boys.

Maybe it was the fact that Kula was using her as a prize to win for the boys so that she could get more food.

"Speaking of which…" Nala said to herself, "where is that girl?" She turned around to see Kula padding towards her, dragging what appeared to be four zebra legs in a large banana leaf.

"Hree Nrrla, R trrr yrr it wrrr wrrrth it!" Kula said muffled by the food in her mouth.

"Okay drop the food first and then tell me," Nala said amused by the enthusiasm of her friend.

Kula let the zebra legs fall to the ground and the two started to eat their lunch.

"See Nala, I told you that the reward was worth it," Kula restated. Nala rolled her eyes and sighed she always hated admitting defeat.

"Fine you were right," Nala sighed as she ate, "this is pretty good."

Kula made a toothy smile, "It's only going to get better now that one of the boys is developing feelings for you." Nala's eyes widened and she choked on her food. She coughed up the zebra pieces.

"WHAT!" Nala screamed.

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain warthog and meerkat were relaxing in a certain jungle when the faintest "What" called out.

"Did you say something, Pumbaa?" Timon.

"No, I didn't," Pumbaa said as he stared off into the distance, "But for some reason I have a strange feeling that somewhere out there a cub is being pressured to be part of a competition and is struggling to come to terms with the fact that she has feelings for someone she considers to be a best friend."

"…"

"That's it." The meerkat said as he waved his arms, "No more late night slumber parties for you."

 **Back to the waterhole**

* * *

Kula collapsed on her back and stared up at the sky with her eyes swirling and her ears ringing. All the other animals including the three boys were now starring back in their direction.

"Nala, how about we go for a walk, okay," Kula suggested as she staggered to her feet and began to lead Nala away from the waterhole before they could make a bigger scene. She then led Nala behind a nearby tree before confronting her.

"So… um… at least we know now that if Zazu is ever fired you can be the new royal announcer. hehehe," Kula nervously laughed, but Nala was not amused.

"I can't believe I agreed to be a part of this! Now some guy is going to fall in love with me and I'll have to marry him and go through life never knowing what it's like to fall in love because I can't just break up with a guy who goes through all this trouble just to win a date with me!" Nala said pacing around in circles.

"Well, at least you won't have to worry about being alone all your life," Kula said trying to lighten the mood. Nala frowned at her.

"Nala you can't back out now, the lionesses are still expecting you to be in this for the next 3 days!" Kula pleaded.

"Kula I can't, now that this is happening," Nala said starting to walk away.

"No! I can't lose her now!" Kula thought to herself she then thought of one thing that would definitely convince Nala. A guilt trip.

"The lionesses started taking bets!" this caused Nala to look back at Kula with wide eyes.

"Excuse me?!" the tan cub exclaimed.

"Yesterday worked out so well that some of the lionesses started to make bets on who they thought the winner would be! So now I've been getting even more food than before.

"I didn't think anything of it Nala. I just wanted to get more food. Please don't be mad at me. I'm sorry!" at this point Kula flopped onto the ground and began to sob at Nala's paws. Nala, of course, was not convinced.

"Oh no…" Nala said as she shook her head, "I'm not doing this again. Tears and food won't save you now Kula. Goodbye." Nala then began to walk away.

"Wait!" Kula called out in desperation, "I'll give you the location of my hideout!" Nala then stopped dead in her tracks.

She had heard rumors that Kula had her own little private place somewhere in the Pride Lands, but no one could ever find it. It was supposedly one of the best places in the Pride Lands to just get away from everyone and just relax. It's how Kula always kept her secret stash… as well as win every time at hide and seek.

"Oh… darn it, Kula!" Nala said turning her head looking at Kula with a groan, "Fine! But you better show me it when this is all over."

Kula's instant tearstained face brightened up and looked like nothing had happened.

"Thank you so much!" Kula exclaimed as she pulled Nala into a hug, "I knew I could count on you, Nala."

"This is going to cost me isn't it?" Nala nervously stated.

"Don't worry, Nala. You'll be fine! I'm sure none of the guys will even have feelings for you by the end of the competition." Kula said grinning, "Now come on we have a show to put on."

* * *

 **Noon**

By the time lunch was finished the boys took their places and the lioness gathered around Kula's makeshift stage.

Sarafina sat with Sarabi still nervous about the whole game. It was clear that Nala and Simba just saw each other as close friends; but during this competition, Sarafina wondered if this will make them both look at each other as something more. If Tojo and Chumvi were to win that could cause some problems with Simba and Nala's betrothal down the road.

"You shouldn't be worried about Simba and Nala, Saffy," Sarabi said picking up on her friend's distress.

"How did you know?" Sarafina said.

"I've known you since we were cubs," Sarabi said with a smile, "and a queen should know if there is something bothering her subjects. If I know Kula, this is soley meant to give us all a good time. Nothing else."

"True," Sarafina said. This eased her troubles a little.

"See? What's the harm with having a little entertainment?" Sarabi said. The lionesses then silenced themselves as they saw Kula walk onto the stage.

"Okay so I'm sure you are curious about what happened at lunchtime," Kula said.

"Yeah what happened?" Tojo whispered to Nala on the "stage".

"Oh, nothing just a little compensation," Nala said grinning.

"Oh did Kula say that she would loosen the ransom on my birds?" Tojo asked.

"Uh… no… she didn't," Nala replied partially confused and shocked by the obscure statement that Tojo had made.

"Oh. Well, that's disappointing," Tojo sighed looking down at his paws.

"Anyways the problem is fixed and we can resume with today's event," Kula finished. She then walked off the stage to reveal where the next challenge will take place.

"I hope today isn't as taxing as yesterday's challenge," Tojo said as the boys trudged through the tall grass.

"Relax, Tojo," Chumvi said, "Kula isn't that heartless."

"And we're here!" Kula exclaimed. The boys stopped walking and looked up to see Rafiki's massive tree. That's when all three of the boys' eyes widened.

"Kula, why are we here?" Tojo asked nervously, "You expect us to run laps around Rafiki's tree?"

"Silly, Tojo," Kula said turning her head to face him, "You're not running around it, you're climbing it."

Upon hearing this, both Simba and Tojo looked at Chumvi with frowns on their faces. He honestly thought Kula would give them something that didn't put their lives in danger?

"Chumvi." Stated Simba.

"Yes?"

"You're an idiot."

Kula then faced the audience of lionesses and announced: "The second challenge of this game is to climb to the top of Rafiki's tree to grab a fruit," Kula explained, "The boys will then have to climb down the tree and give the fruit to Nala."

Simba was nervous about this competition. He knew that Chumvi claws where the sharpest of the boys making his climb up the tree easier and faster. However, Simba knew that Chumvi could easily lose his focus which could be used to an advantage.

"Oh, one more thing." Kula stated as she whispered to the boys, "I didn't check to see if Rafiki is there, so if he is… well… try not to get hit. Ok?" though she remained cheery, this earned a rather troubled look from the competing boys.

Deciding that they had better get this over with, Simba and his friends took their positions at the base of the tree.

"Ready...set...Go!" Kula exclaimed. The boys then launched themselves at the tree. Simba extended his claws and dug into the tree propelling himself up. Simba had climbed trees before but it was usually accomplished in a short burst. Rafiki's tree was an entirely different situation. There were only short notches to help propel the cubs upward.

Down below everyone watched as the boys continued their ascent up to the top of his tree. Nala didn't know why but she kept drawing her attention to Simba. Maybe she was crazy but she always found Simba to be the better looking one of the male cubs. His golden pelt shined in the light of the sun. It had that strange… radiance about it. Nala also noticed that Simba still was a bit chubby for a cub of his age but he always claimed it's muscle, not fat. Not that it bothered her anyways he always looked cuter that way.

 _"Wait what am I saying!"_ Nala thought to herself, _"Did I just think that Simba looked cute."_

Then it had suddenly dawned on her it all made sense. Her line of focus on Simba, how she always preferred to be with him, and why she was closest with him amongst the boys. Nala had a crush on her best and closest friend, Simba.

 _"Oh Great Kings help me,"_ Nala thought. She couldn't let anyone know about it not even Kula. Even her mother, Sarafina would definitely tell because she loved to gossip. And if Simba ever found out, their friendship would definitely be over.

Nala's mind then wandered to another thought. What did Kula mean when one of the boys were developing feelings for her? At first, she thought she was joking, but now… she wasn't so sure. Who would that even be? It definitely wasn't Chumvi otherwise Kula would have shut down the competition. Kula was head over heels for the sarcastic cub and she didn't make it subtle. It was a wonder how Chumvi continuously misses the hints and signs that she throws his way.

 _"Could it be Tojo?"_ Nala thought to herself. It was unlikely but not impossible. Tojo didn't seem to be interested in girls at all. He usually paid more attention to his birds.

And then there was Simba. Could he be the one that Kula was talking about?

 _"Nah,"_ Nala thought to herself, " _It definitely wouldn't be Simba. He's too grossed out by that mushy stuff. It had to be Tojo."_

Back on to the tree Simba and Chumvi had pulled ahead of Tojo who was slowly making his way up the tree. Simba struggled to keep climbing up due to fewer knots being integrated into the bark of the tree. as the top of the tree was approaching.

 _"It's now or never, Simba,"_ Simba thought to himself. He was going to have to distract Chumvi to win the maximum amount of points for this game and Simba knew just what to say.

"Hey! Lookout it's Rafiki!" Simba exclaimed.

"Really!? Where!?" Chumvi whipped his head up and frantically looked around to looked around to see if what Simba said was true. Unfortunately for Chumvi, his claws lost their grip on the bark of the tree and he fell.

"Sorry Chumvi," Simba said.

Kula looked up, seeing the start of Chumvi's decent.

"CHUMVI!" Kula screamed in absolute panic. In a desperate attempt to save her crush, Kula dived forward and skidded on the ground, right under Chumvi as he landed on her back. Kula groaned in pain but she was relieved that she was able to break his fall.

"Wow… thanks, Kula." Chumvi stated as if nothing happened as he got off of the reddish-brown lioness cub and began once again climbing back up.

"I'm good," Kula sputtered out sarcastically, upset that Chumvi didn't even bother to help her up and ask how she was. She then groaned in pain and rolled over on the ground holding her sides.

Back to the top of the tree, Simba used all his might to jump up and snatch the fruit on the top of Rafiki's tree landed in the space of the top of the tree. Simba stood back up and looked down to see Tojo making his way closer to the top of the tree. Simba moved quickly and took several branches down until he was low enough to safely jump down. Simba then ran over to Nala and dropped the fruit at her feet.

"Thank you, Simba," Nala smiled warmly at him. Simba smiled back. He then noticed that Chumvi was standing next to the light cream cub.

"Aren't you going to try again, Chumvi?" Simba asked.

"No, what's the point? Tojo is already getting his fruit." Chumvi stated. The three cubs looked back to see Tojo standing on top of a branch and grabbing a fruit with his paw.

"I got one!" Tojo exclaimed with glee. Right when he was about to make his way down, however…

"Owe!" Tojo groaned as something just bopped him on the head. He looked back to see a very disgruntled Rafiki looking at him, and he was tapping his staff in his hand in a rather angry fashion.

"What did I tell you cubs about climbing on my tree?!" the old mandrill exclaimed.

"Meep!" Tojo squeaked as he quickly made his way back down the tree with Rafiki swinging his staff at him, barely missing his head.

"And stay out!" Rafiki exclaimed. It was then that Rafiki noticed the crowd of lionesses looking at him with uneasy faces. Though they seemed worried, Rafiki didn't share their concern, nor was he worried about what they thought of what he just did.

"Don't you all have lives?" Rafiki stated gruffly before going back into the solace of his tree.

With the monkey gone, Tojo finally got to the bottom of the tree and approached Nala with the fruit in his mouth.

"Hemphhh, Ymp, Gpmhh," Tojo said muffled he dropped the fruit at Nala's legs.

"Thanks." Nala stated with a smile, but she had to ask him: "Are you ok?"

"Oh yeah." Tojo stated with a smile, "He didn't hit me that hard. Trust me… he could really swing that stick if he wanted to."

"Looks like this challenge is finished," Kula said as she wanted to put the Rafiki incident behind and move on with the competition, "I think that we can call it a day." The other cubs nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **That evening.**

During the closing ceremony Kula marked the scoreboard again making Simba and Chumvi tied and Tojo in last place. The cubs and the lionesses made their way back to the den of Pride Rock.

Sarafina decided to groom Nala before they went to sleep in order to see if there was something more to her friendship with Simba.

 _"Okay Sarafi_ na, _it's go time to see what she thinks about Simba, but be subtle. Don't give away your intention,"_ Sarafina thought to herself.

"So, anything interesting happen this morning," Sarafina asked in between licks. Nala's radar instantly picked up what her mother was doing.

"No, mom, just the boys being boys," Nala said hoping to throw off her mother.

"Well I've always wondered why Simba has that yellow pelt," Sarafina said.

"I think that you mean brownish gold," Nala instantly corrected her mother.

"Really, I never noticed I guess."

"Seriously, Mom?" Nala said, "it's not that hard to notice the shade of his when you stare-I mean look at him!" Nala quickly finished blushing slightly.

 _"I think that confirms my suspicions,_ " Sarafina thought to herself.

"Well if you say so," Sarafina said, "now it's time to get some rest, you have another eventful day tomorrow."Nala sighed and she snuggled up against Sarafina to sleep for the night. However, on the inside, Nala was panicking. Sarafina had successfully caught her saying that she stares at Simba. This put Nala on edge, she hoped that she could confess to Simba before Sarafina's mouth told the world.

 _"I hope he feels the same way about me,"_ Nala thought.

 **AN: And thus another chapter is completed in this story. Once again I want to thank all the reviewers for my story. I never thought I would get this far on fanfiction, to be honest. It's currently 1:25 am and I should probably get some sleep so I'll see you until next time.**


	3. Bitter, Sweet and Strange

**AN: Third Chapter is here yay! I'm having a lot of fun with this story. A big thankyou goes out to these guys: Dark-Cupid 95, CresentLuna, Mon. .092, Theunkown, Justin, Jazzzzy, Derick Lindsey, lionguarddefend, Dragon-slayer, The eaqualiser, and Noobinator. You guys keep me going with your positive reviews!**

 **Also I made a mistake in the last chapter. I said that Simba and Chumvi were tied but actually Simba is ahead by one point and Chumvi was second leaving Tojo in last. Thanks for pointing that out.**

 **Once again Rouge Lion is continuing to collaborate with me to write this story, if it weren't for him this story would be possible. So go read his stories and say hi.**

The sky turned red as the bright orange sun sank into the African Savannah. Nala and Simba were at the top of Pride Rock, lounging about and watching the gorgeous sight.

"Wow, this is amazing." Nala said as the two cubs sat, "It's really beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you, gorgeous," Simba said causing Nala's ears to shoot up and look back at Simba with surprise. Did she just hear him right? Did he just call her… beautiful? And gorgeous?

"W-What did you say?" Nala stuttered in disbelief. This earned a laugh from Simba as he narrowed his eyebrows at her like he always did whenever he was playing around.

"Nala…" Simba said in a quiet and smooth voice, all the while giving her his signature toothy grin, "I've been meaning to say this for ages. You're the most amazing, most caring, and sweetest lioness in the entire world!"

"S-Simba," Nala giggled and she turned away from him, trying to hide her goofy smile, "you're making me blush."

"I can't help it," Simba stated as he gently cupped his paw around Nala's cheek and turned her face to meet his, "because the truth is Nala… I… well… I love you."

Nala smiled as tears of joy started to fall from her eyes, "I love you too, Simba." The two cubs stared into each other's eyes and they got closer and closer until finally they stopped with their muzzle almost, practically touching.

"Simba?" Nala gasped as she felt her heart about to explode out of her chest from pure excitement.

"I've been wanting to do since the moment I first saw you," Simba said with his charming smile. He then leaned in to close the gap with a tender kiss. As Nala closed her eyes leaned in she was expecting to feel his warm muzzle, but instead, her lips made contact with something that was cold and kinda grainy.

Then Nala opened her eyes and saw that the world around her was rather fuzzy. As she blinked a few times, everything came into focus. She wasn't on top of Pride Rock with Simba. She was still in the den, sleeping on the ground and kissing a rock.

Nala shoved the rock away and rubbed her tongue trying to get the gritty taste out of her mouth. She eventually stopped and slumped back down on the floor of the den, feeling a bit disappointed that it turned out only to be a dream.

She then stood up, stretched her legs, and began to make her way towards the cave's exit. All the while she was thinking about what she just dreamt, and surprisingly it was… nice. She thought it would be strange at first seeing how he was her best friend and all… yet… she actually rather enjoyed the thought of being a bit closer with Simba then they were now. That dream was actually very enjoyable. At least… it would have been before the stupid sun had peered through the den waking her.

Now that Nala had come to terms about how she felt about the golden cub, she knew that the challenge now would be to keep it from him, or anyone else for that matter. The last thing she needed right now was everyone knowing that she was crushing on her beset friend.

 _"Ok, Nala,"_ she tried to pep talk herself as she let out a sharp sigh, _"Play it cool… relax… don't give it away that you actually have a crush on… Simba."_ That's when Nala suddenly thought about what happened last night with her and her mother. Sarafina had asked her some rather… peculiar questions concerning Simba. Did she know? It wouldn't surprise Nala at this point. Her mother could always pick up on things rather quickly.

 _"If she does know,"_ Nala thought to herself _, "I just hope that she doesn't blab about it to anyone."_

She casually padded outside the den to see Simba already down at the base of Pride Rock. Nala smiled as she saw him and rushed down to tell him good morning. However, not paying attention Nala tripped on her own paws and she rolled down the slope of Pride Rock colliding with Simba at the base. The two tumbled for a moment until they stopped in the grass with Nala on top of Simba their chest touching.

"Um…" Nala stuttered blushing madly as she tried to find an explanation to what just happened, "Pinned ya? Hehe.".

"Uh…" Simba couldn't really get the words out of his mouth as he felt his cheeks become warm from embarrassment. When Nala pinned him, she wasn't usually this close to him. Why was he even letting her do this? He should be shoving her off like he always did. What was wrong with him?

"Okay, guys break it up," the brown cub, Chumvi interrupted the scene as he bounded down the slope of Pride Rock and ran up to them, "Simba, hasn't won the date yet."

Simba and Nala's faces turned even redder and they separated from each other quickly. Chumvi chuckled as he sat down, he just loved messing with his friends. Tojo and Kula were the last cubs to follow down from Pride Rock and join them.

"Good morning my friends who's ready for another exciting day?" Kula said with a toothy smile. None of the other cubs were too happy to hear that announcement. This competition had caused enough physical pain and emotional turmoil already.

"Okay… not the response I was looking for." Kula said with a huff of disappointment, "Well, feel free to relax before today's race!"

"And what exactly will you be doing?" Tojo questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Why the most important job, of course," Kula replied "helping myself to my share of the food." The other cubs groaned and rolled their eyes at Kula as she chuckled mischievously and walked away from the group with a little pip in her step.

"That girl…" Chumvi said in his usually snarky tone, "Someone needs to put her in her place,".

"I'm too exhausted to do anything," Tojo yawned as he laid down and rolled onto his back, "Plus, she kinda scares me."

"Scares you?" Chumvi scoffed, "How?"

"In case you haven't notice," Tojo pointed out, "Every time something comes up that involves Kula and food she can become a bit… well… violent?" The other four cubs paused for a moment pondering Tojo's thoughts.

"Nah," Chumvi said dismissing the thought, "She's harmless."

"Easy for you to say." Tojo frowned, "You didn't get hit in head yesterday by a cranky old monkey!"

* * *

By the afternoon heat had increased. The cubs decided to relax with a swim in the waterhole. Nala relaxed on a rock near the water's edge as the boy cubs splashed about in the water. She caught herself staring at Simba several times.

 _"Get it together, Nala,"_ Nala mentally scolded herself.

 _"But I just can't!"_ her emotional side argued back, _"He looks TOO CUTE swimming in the water."_

 _"Listen to yourself! You're starting to sound like Mom!"_

Little did Nala know, while she was talking in her head, a figure was walking up behind her and then suddenly…

"Hi, Nala!" Kula said from behind. Startled, Nala let out a surprised "Gah!" as she jolted forward, causing her to fall into the waterhole with a splash. Kula looked forward into the water seeing Nala resurface and glaring at her.

"Kula…" Nala said in a low growl, "What did I tell you about sneaking up on me?!"

"Sorry, I was just excited about today," Kula apologized. Nala rolled her eyes and climbed out of the water hole.

"What is so important for you to say that you felt the need to get me wet?" Nala questioned as she started to shake her fur dry.

"Well…" Kula said as she got a mischievous smile on her face, "Besides the fact that we're almost to the last day of the competition, I can tell that you have a crush on one of the boys."

Nala's eyes widened and she looked worriedly at Kula, _"I can't let her figure out it's Simba."_

"Pfft! you must be crazy," Nala retorted with a wave of her paw, trying desperately to play it cool, "There is no way I'm developing feelings for any of these guys. Just look at them." The two girls looked at the boys play fighting in the waterhole. All of three of them had matted fur and dirt covering almost every inch of their body.

"Sorry, Nala." Kula said as she laid down and rested her head between her paws, but I know that look when I see it, and right now I can tell that you've been checking out someone. So… before the competition gets started I have to know… who is it?"

Nala didn't know what to do! The last person who needed to know about her little crush was Kula. Sure she had given Nala some food and sure she gave her to location for her little hideout, but all of that was just for Kula's personal gain in her quest for an eternal source of food.

Chumvi was right. Someone needs to put Kula in her- That's it! Nala suddenly thought up the perfect way to not only get her back for putting her through all of this, but also for asking about who she liked.

"Fine…" Nala said with a sigh, trying to play along, "You got me. I do like one of them."

"Ha! I knew it!" Kula said triumphantly, "So… which one is it?"

"Well…" Nala began as she tried to make her face as star-struck and dreamy eyed as possible as she looked out at the group of boys playing, "Out of all of them, the one who I've just absolutely loved is… Chumvi!"

"Wait…" Kula's eyes widened and she stood to her feet when she heard what Nala just said. After a moment of silence, Kula laughed nervously and said: "Heh, that's a good one Nala. But seriously, who is it?"

"I'm serious, Kula." Nala said as she faked a swoon, "When I saw him run in the first race, I couldn't help but notice his strong, handsome, and ... muscular body."

Kula's eyes started to noticeably twitch. She could take hearing about this mushy stuff, but she couldn't stand Nala talking about Chumvi… HER Chumvi, in that way!

"And the other day when he fell from Rafiki's tree," Nala said as she kept her eyes fixed on the brown cub, "My heart leapt out of fear that something bad was going to happen to him. But when he was alright, I knew that it was fate that he survived."

 _"Fate my tail!"_ Kula thought to herself as she continued to listen to Nala's little love rant, " _I was the one who saved Chumvi from that fall! Nala didn't do-"_

"And Now," Nala concluded, "He's sure to win this competition, and I'll finally be with the love of my life as we go out on our first… of many… dates." In saying that, Nala looked back at Kula, only to see the brown cub was looking at Nala with her jaw gaping open and her eyes dilated. It took Nala every ounce of self-control to keep herself from busting out laughing at the sight. She figured she got the message across to Kula loud and clear.

"Well then." Nala said as she got up and brushed herself off, "I guess I better be going. No hard feelings, Kula. It's Chumvi's choice after all. But hey… you never know." In saying that Nala walked away, leaving behind a very dumbstruck, very angry Kula.

"Heh…" Nala laughed to herself as she looked back at her best friend, "Revenge is sweet." All the while, Kula was still trying to process what just happened.

 _"What have I done?"_ Kula thought to herself. She had been so wrapped up in getting food that she didn't think about the possibility of Nala actually going out with Chumvi… and liking him!

This can't be happening… It won't be happening! One way or another, Kula made a sole promise that no matter what happened… Nala and Chumiv won't feel the love tonight!

 **AN: And his concludes the third chapter. I had to separate this scene from the challenge to make sure it didn't run on forever due to the fact that the second part would bring this to a total amount of 4050 words or so (witch is over double my usual chapter amount) but don't worry i should get the second part out by next Friday.**

 **Also I have gotten a bit of questions in the reviews if I was going to flash forward to when Simba and Nala reunite in the jungle. Because this isn't a stand alone story, and it's a part of a series I'm not going to write that scene. Sorry to disappoint but it would break the flow of the other stories which are somewhat connected. However, the Idea isn't dead maybe I'll use it in the future…**


	4. Washed Up Love

**AN: Chapter four is done and out early this time. I didn't expect to get this this much support throughout my little experiment of a story. Thank you guys for the support on this story and of course Rouge Lion for collaborating with me on this story.**

Noon arrived in the Pride Lands as the boys and Nala took their place on the stage where everyone met for the next challenge. Kula bounded her way up to address the crowd of lionesses in her usual chipper tone.

"Welcome to our third challenge for this game of ours. So far things look pretty good for Simba who is ahead by a few points over Chumvi." Kula announced.

This got Simba's attention. He was closer than ever to winning the date with Nala.

 _"I wonder if Nala's thinking about who she's going to date."_ Simba thought to himself. Simba glanced at Nala. She was currently just grooming her fur on the side of the stage, making her lustrous coat gleam in the light of the sun. Her bright teal eyes sparkled, just like her feisty personality. She beamed like an angel from the top of her head to the tuft of fur on her tail. She just looked so… amazing.

Chumvi noticed Simba's glazed eyes and the stupid grin that he had on his face. It didn't take the brown cub long to tell what Simba was doing. With a mischievous grin, he swatted Simba's muzzle with his tail, breaking his trance.

"Chumvi!" Simba growled in a low whisper, "Keep your tail out of my face! Knowing you, there's no telling where it's been."

"Well you keep your eyes forward and not at Nala, 'prince charming'. You keep that up and people will think you actually like her." Chumvi shot back. Simba face lightly flushed. He hoped it wasn't too obvious about his crush on Nala.

"Now…" Kula announced to the audience of lionesses, "If you would all please follow me, it's time for the third challenge." Kula pranced off the stage with the boys and Nala following close behind. As the lionesses proceed to follow the children, Sarafina pulled Sarabi behind to talk with her best friend.

"Sarabi," Sarafina said with an excited whisper, "you'll never guess what I found out last night."

"What?"

"Nala, has a crush on Simba,"

"No…" Sarabi gasped.

"Yea! My daughter has a crush on your son!"

The queen and lioness then squealed with excitement like they did when they were cubs attracting the attention of the other animals in the area. Seeing a few eyes go their way, Sarabi simply gave everyone an apologetic smile. Once everyone stopped looking, she quietly began talking to Sarafina again.

"What are we going to do? Should we tell them about this?" Sarafina asked, referring to Simba and Nala.

"No." Sarabi explained, "Simba's absolutely clueless when it comes to matters like this. He kinda reminds me of this father." Sarabi said with a laugh, "You wouldn't believe how long it took for Mufasa to admit his feelings for me. I think it's best if we let them work it out." The two lionesses exchanged giggles.

Meanwhile, at the front of the traveling crowd, the cubs were making their way through the tall grass. Nala and Simba had somehow managed to walk alongside each other.

Both were in a pretty uncomfortable state, having just realized how they felt for each other for but uncertain about their crushes returning those feelings. Eventually Nala decided to break the ice.

"I, uh…" Nala slowly began, "I haven't talked to you that much since this dumb game started." Nala said in a snarky tone.

"Really?" Simba replied, thinking about what she said, "Well… I guess that I've just been distracted by all of this."

"Well at least you would burn off some of that 'cub fat'," Nala teased as she poked Simba's side causing a frown to appear on Simba's light orange muzzle.

"I told you it's not fat! Its muscle!" Simba shot back with an almost whiny attitude. Nala giggled.

"Bedsides, you're one to talk! Have you seen your reflection lately? Kula's zebra legs have started to get to you… literally."

"Oh?" Nala said raising her eyebrow giving Simba a sassy look, "You sure you want to go there, Simba?"

Simba looked back at her and saw that she was challenging him on that. With a toothy grin, he launched himself at her. Nala let out a yelp as Simba tackled her into the grass. The two cubs tussled on the ground before Simba once again found himself pinned to the ground, with Nala towering over him.

"Pinned ya again." Nala said with a smug smile on her face. Simba looked at Nala. The sun was gleaming on her tan coat making it sparkle in the light.

 _"Wow…"_ Simba thought to himself, _"She… actually looks good from down here?"_

Nala looked back at Simba his coat was far dirtier than hers since he always hated taking baths but his other features made up for it. Simba was just so rugged and mischievous and playful, yet somewhat compassionate. Then there were those amber eyes… and that cute hair tuft at the tip of his head.

 _"He's so adorable,_ " Nala thought to herself as her eyes and stance relaxed as she just focused on the lion beneath her paws.

The two continued to unknowingly stare at each other as Nala's big started to lower due to her arms getting tired. It wasn't until their stomachs had made contact that Simba noticed that Nala still had him pinned.

"Um… Nala?"

"Hmm?" Nala blinked a few times at the sound of Simba's voice.

"Can… I get up now?" Simba asked almost sheepishly. Nala then snapped out of her stare, quickly realizing how awkward their situation was.

"Oh yea! Sorry, Simba." Nala said quickly jumping off of Simba's body with embarrassment. Nala started to feel her cheeks redden.

"I can't let him see me like this!" Nala thought as she started to panic.

"Nala?" Simba asked when he saw her turn away from him, "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah Simba." Nala stuttered, "It's just… um." Nala's mind went into a panic. The rush of all these emotions was almost drowning her.

" _Come on Nala think of a way out!"_ Nala thought to herself.

IHAVETOGODOSOMETHINGFORKULAKBYE!" Nala shouted and she quickly dashed off to where Kula was walking ahead of everyone, leaving Simba in a cloud of dust.

 _"What was that all about?"_ Simba thought as the smoke cleared, _"Did I do something wrong?"_ with his ears laid back and his tail dragging in the dirt, Simba berated himself: _"Nice going Simba. She probably thinks you're a creep after you stared at her like that. Grr… stupid, stupid, stupid!"_

* * *

The cubs and the lionesses had gathered around the bank of the Zuberi River. Its crystal waters sparkled in the day. Sarafina had looked at the edge of the water remembering how she had taken the cubs here from time to time in the past to spend some quality time with them. She could only guess why Kula brought them all here.

"Attention everyone," Kula announced, "our third challenge will be a swim race from the base of the river to the edge of the Mchezaji jungle. The boys will have to put their strength and stamina together to swim against the current. One you tag one of Tojo's birds there you will swim back to the starting point. The first one to get back wins!" Kula explained.

Simba and Chumvi gulped while Tojo just stood next to them with a confident smile. The Zuberi river wasn't all that bad, the current wasn't as strong during this time of the season. But that meant that they weren't the only ones in the water. Crocodiles, hippos and an occasional snake could be found in these still streams and none of the cubs wanted to end up inside of another predator's gullet anytime soon.

Still Simba couldn't give up now, he was so close to winning the date. The boys waded their way into the water of the river the first leg of the swim was going against the current, Simba hoped that he had enough endurance to swim. After that the rest was with the current so it should be easier.

The boys waited in the water as Kula raised her forearm.

"Ready… set…...GO!" Kula shouted as she swung her paw down. The boys launched themselves forward as the water splashed with every kick and stroke from the boys. Simba took rhythmic breaths at the surface before diving into the water and kicking to propel him forward.

The constant splashing caused water to force it self into Simba's mouth making him stop to cough it out. Simba looked around and saw the other starting to advance and he quickly dove back under the waves of the river.

 _"Come on, Simba, you can do this. For Nala!"_ Simba thought to himself. When he surfaced again Simba took a look at the other cubs and he saw that Chumvi was leading.

 _"No! I can't lose this challenge!"_ Simba thought. He used all his energy to swim even faster.

* * *

Nala watched worriedly from the river bank as the boys continued to swim. She hated to admit it but she was hoping that the other boys would be slowed down by the current so that Simba would win the date with her.

 _"It would be so romantic,"_ Nala thought, _"We'll be watching the sunset and he'll tell me that I'm gorgeous, and then we'll share a kiss. We'll get married and live happily ever after! And then we'll name the cubs, Kopa, Kiara, and Kion."_ Nala mused with a goofy love-sick smile, _"Well… maybe I'm getting ahead of myself."_

Meanwhile Kula stood next to her contemplating what Nala had said to her before.

 _"Look at her… dreaming about my Chumvi!"_ Kula thought angrily, but she quickly reassured herself, _"Calm down, Kula. Calm down. Chumvi won't win this competition. You've made sure of that."_ In saying that, a mischievous ooking smile appeared on Kula's face as she went back to watching the boys.

* * *

Meanwhile, Simba and Chumvi were neck and neck as they were nearing the tip of the fog covered Mchezaji Jungle. Simba saw that Chumvi was right on top of him and he used all of his might to push past him.

"Face it… Simba." Chumvi taunted as he brought his head up to breath as he swam, "There is… no way… you're out swimming… me!"

"Keep… telling… yourself… that." Simba countered, "I'm… going… to… win… this…"

"Hey guys. What's up?" Simba and Chumvi turned to the new voice to see that it was Tojo! Not only was the tan cub keeping up with him, but he didn't look to be even trying! Only his head was sticking up out of the water yet he was keeping in perfect peace with them!

"Tojo?!" both Simba and Chumvi exclaimed in shock.

"Sorry guys." Tojo said with a shrug, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a race to win!" suddenly, Tojo went from being neck and neck with the two cubs to swimming way ahead of them. He rounded the checkpoint and swam right past Simba and Chumvi, but not without raising his paw out of the water to slap water in their faces.

At this point, Simba and Chumvi stopped dead and just waded in the water and watched as Tojo seemingly won the race and got out on dry ground. They couldn't believe what just happened. Tojo… the sickly and most unlikely winner of this competition just beat them like they were nothing.

"It looks like Tojo has taken first place!" Kula exclaimed as she and Nala greeted the cub as he stepped out onto dry land and winked at them with a cheeky grin. All the while, Chumvi just waded in the water, trying to process what just happened.

"Am I dreaming," Chumvi began, "Or did we just lose to Tojo?" Chumvi was expecting a response from Simba, but there was nothing. "Simba?" Chumvi looked back, only to see that while he was looking at Tojo, Simba seemingly swam ahead of him.

"Hey!" Chumvi exclaimed in anger, "No fair!"

Simba continued swimming forward until he hit the checkpoint then he swam back past Chumvi, working with the current to bring him back downriver. On the way back, he followed Tojo's example and slapped a mouthful of water in Chumvi's face, earning a bunch of angry and incoherent shouts from the brown cub.

He may not have won the race, but at least he didn't come in last. Plus, getting Chumvi mad was always an added bonus.

"And here we have Simba taking second place!" Kula exclaimed, much to Nala's delight. Simba came up and congratulated Tojo, though he still had no idea on how the male cub pulled off such an amazing feat.

While everyone expressed the heartfelt congratulations and Chumvi got back to shore, Kula walked off the sidelines to a secluded part of the river, with a zebra leg in her mouth.

"Nice work," she said as she tossed a zebra leg into the water. Instantly, a young crocodile emerged from the water and swallowed the chunk of zebra whole.

"Think nothing of it." The croc replied as he flashed her a toothy grin, "If you need me to give any more of your friends a ride through the river, just let me know." Having said that, the croc once again submerged under the water, leaving a very happy Kula to go back to see how her friends were doing. Yes sir… there was only one last challenge to go and one way or another, her beloved Chumvi wasn't going to win it.

* * *

"Mom!" Simba cried out as Sarabi licked the top of his head, causing the fur to stand up, "you keep messing up my main!" Simba desperately tried to get out of Sarabi's grasp but the queen continued to hold on to her golden cub.

"Simba, just hold still your almost done," Sarabi said. She gave Simba one final lick and loosed her grip on him. Simba leaped out of his mother's arms and landed on the ground below.

"Simba, your definitely overreacting," Tojo said as his mother continued to lick his tan flank, "I find it rather relaxing." Simba sighed and rolled his eyes. He took his claws and raked it through the small tuft of hair at the top of his head. He then padded from the bank of the water hole to his spot on Kula's stage.

As the sun turned the skies bright orange the lionesses gathered again at the spot to see where the boys stood in the competition.

"Good evening everyone," Kula said as she bounded happily on the stage, "During today's event, Tojo had placed first, Simba second, and Chumvi last."

Chumvi frowned he coughed slightly, "totally unfair," Chumvi murmured and coughed again. Kula turned around and glared at him with fire in her eyes. Chumvi broke into a sweat and leaned back.

"Never mind," Chumvi said laughing nervously. Kula turned back to the lioness with a toothy smile.

"That leaves, Tojo, Simba, and Chumvi all tied up each with five points," Kula said. The lionesses started to murmur and whisper excited.

However, this put Nala and Simba on edge. Simba's advantage was lost and if either Chumvi or Tojo won, Nala would practically cry out of pure disappointment. Not that there was anything wrong with Tojo or Chumvi, they just weren't right for Nala. Chumvi would do nothing but complain about stuff that was weird or a bit off with the date, and Tojo would be talking about his birds for the entirety of it.

One thing was for sure though. It was all up to Simba to win the final challenge.

 **AN: This completes the 4th chapter yay. Quick side note I will see if the next chapter will be split in two or stay the same so either the story will be 5 chapters or 6 chapters long. I'll be sure to notify you whether the next chapter will be the last.**


	5. Friends or More?

**AN: Welcome back to another chapter of Kula's Game of Love! Before we continue I have an Important announcement. After I'm done with this fanfiction I will be collaborating with Rouge Lion and .a902 to write a fanfiction called** _ **In a Perfect World…**_ **as of now, it will be published on Rougle Lion's profile but I will keep you posted on my bio page.**

 **Thank you all for reading this far into my little goofy story. I honestly didn't expect to get this much support. I just have to thank you guys I'm really grateful that you enjoy the story it really encourages me to keep going when I see the number of views on the chapters.**

 **I also made another error in the point system of the game Simba should actually be in the lead with 6 points and not five sorry I just really suck at math so we're just going to pretend that all the boys have even points because I really like the river scene (which was written by Rogue Lion not me) Sorry Derick Lindsay.**

 **Once again shout out to Rouge Lion who continues to collaborate with me on this story. Seriously I don't know if this story would be half as good as it is now without his help. He's a great person and an awesome writer and you should really check out his fanfiction over on his profile. Okay, enough of me talking let's get going with this story.**

* * *

Blackness. That's all Simba saw in the den as he lied on his back and looked up at the ceiling. Nothing but inky blackness reaching out for what seemed miles. Simba sighed out of frustration and rolled over onto his stomach to get comfortable. He tossed, and turned, and even tried snuggling next to his mother for warmth, but no matter what he did, he just couldn't sleep.

Kula's little competition had made Simba aware that he actually liked Nala. Now… just thinking about it was causing a whole flurry of emotions to invade the composure of his mind. It was torcher! From warm fuzzies to random hot and cold flashes, to his heart skipping beats; all of this just left Simba mentally drained… but somewhat exhilarated at the same time. After losing first place to Tojo (which was under suspicious circumstances) the boys had ended up with 5 points each putting them in a tiebreaker situation. This put Simba on edge. He couldn't bear the thought of Nala going out with one of the other guys. The mere thought of it made Simba disgruntled.

 _"Come on Simba,"_ Simba mentally scolded himself _, "you have to get a good rest if you expect to win tomorrow's challenge."_ He tried desperately to fall asleep, but no matter how hard he tried he just… couldn't.

A cold breeze from the outside swept into the den making Simba shiver. Maybe if he walked around Pride Rock it would tire him out a bit. Not knowing what else to do, Simba stood up with a yawn and a stretch hearing faint pops from his stiff joints and he then padded out of the warm den and into the moonlit night.

Meanwhile, in the opposite corner of the den, Nala lied awake in her mother's arms with the same problem. While she didn't take part in any of the physical tasks of the game, being the prize for the boys to win didn't sit well with her. In fact, knowing that she'd be going on a date with one of them caused her quite a bit of stress. Not to mention discovering her crush on Simba just added to her problems.

Every outcome of the game would put Nala in an awkward position. Going on a date with Chumvi wouldn't be fun in the slightest. Knowing him, Chumvi would stay the same snarky sarcastic cub always throwing one liners at her or other animals. On top of that, Kula would be enraged. Of course, Nala could keep up the charade of liking Chumvi just to get Kula back… but then she'd actually be playing with Chumvi's feelings, and that was something she didn't want to do.

 _"Chumvi would be the worst outcome by far."_ Nala thought to herself _, "Of course… there is Tojo…"_ Nala paused for a moment as she thought about the tan cub for a moment _, "He was pretty good in the swimming competition."_

A date with Tojo would be...interesting. The tan cub wasn't too stuck up or pushy. He was actually a very kind and gentle soul. The only problem Nala would see… was his birds. His main focus was always on that flock of bluebirds that followed him everywhere he went. Not that it was a bad thing, it just tended to make Tojo oblivious to others around him. He would constantly feed them, groom them, and would let them do whatever they wanted. It wouldn't surprise Nala if he brought the birds along on a date and just focused on them the entire time. He also had a knack for injuring himself. Nala recalled Tojo getting 3 separate ankle sprains in the time span of 2 months. All of this amounted to a scrawny socially awkward cub.

Finally… there was Simba. Nala obviously wanted this option the most, but at the same time… she wasn't so sure. Simba had all the characteristics she liked in a friend. He was playful, feisty, and always looking for an adventure. However, underneath that exterior Nala could tell that Simba cared about everyone, lions, and animals alike, and he had a soft spot for them. Of course, even if Simba had won the date it would still be another uncomfortable situation. Would Simba be alright with this? He wasn't exactly into all that mushy stuff. Nala couldn't tell him how she felt… at the same time she really, really wanted to. And if they do wind up going on a date… then…

Nala sighed once again shifting in her mother's arms to fall asleep but to no avail.

Suddenly, the sound of rocks rolling on the ground drew Nala's attention to the opening of the den. She looked up and saw Simba's figure slowly making his way out of the mouth of the den. Curious as to where the golden prince was off to this late at night, Nala gingerly stepped out of Sarafina's arms and silently made her way into the night.

Nala quietly stalked behind Simba, following him as he made his way down Pride Rock and into the starlight Pride Lands. Eventually, Simba had stopped at the waterhole, bending down and taking a drink. Nala looked as Simba lapped at the still waters making small ripples reach out before dissipating once more.

Nala tried to take another step forward but she stepped on a small twig making it snap. The snap cracked through the night startling Simba. The prince flicked his ears and turned around to see what that noise was.

"Who's there!?" Simba asked sternly, trying not to show any fear. Nala continued to stay quiet hoping Simba wouldn't notice her. The golden cub took a couple steps forward peering into the grass seeing Nala's cream coat.

"Nala?" Simba gasped, recognizing the fur. Nala, knowing that she was caught, sheepishly laughed and she stood up the stars illuminating her coat with a glow.

"Hehe…um… hi Simba," Nala laughed nervously.

"What are you doing out here?" questioned Simba. Nala started to panic not knowing what to say.

"I...um...I saw you leaving the den and I wanted to see where you were going," Nala explained looking down at her paws. Simba looked at Nala with his gentle, amber eyes. He could tell that she wasn't telling him something, her awkward body language gave that away. Nala, however, wasn't going to budge. He knew she could be stubborn when it came to opening up at times.

An awkward pause lingered between the cubs for a couple of moments, until Nala finally said: "Well… um… we should probably get going before everyone notices we're gone." Simba nodded his head in agreement and the two started to make their way back.

While walking Simba couldn't help himself but stare at Nala as she walked ahead of him. The stars made it so that her coat stood out from the darkened night. The grace of every step and slow moments of her tail was hypnotizing him.

From ahead Nala could feel Simba's gaze on her. Nala wondered why was it something on her coat? Maybe, but she just groomed herself. Could it be that Simba was actually… showing interest in her?

 _"Nah,"_ Nala quickly dismissed the thought, _"Don't be stupid, Nala. Simba wouldn't do anything like that. It's not like him."_

Before long the pair had reached the mouth of the den. Simba and Nala paused for a moment, neither knowing what to say to each other.

"Well..um..goodnight Nala," Simba said.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," Nala said looking up. Her eyes met Simba's warm smile making her heart flutter inside her chest. Simba then walked into the den to settle with his leaving Nala to her thoughts in the night.

" _If only Simba could see me as something more,"_ Nala thought.

* * *

 **The next morning**

Tojo was laying in the den curled up with his bluebirds resting on top of him, slightly snoring. He then felt his whiskers brush up against his nose, and he scrunched his face in response. He figured it was his mom just waking him up, but as he slightly opened his eyes he saw... Kula?!

"GAHH!" Tojo screamed. He jumped up from his position startling his birds causing them to fly up. Tojo landed back on the floor in a heap with his fur standing up.

"Kula what was that for!" Tojo said.

"Silly, Tojo, you're going to help me with something this morning," Kula said with her signature toothy smile.

"And why would I help you this early in the morning," Tojo said rubbing his head.

"If you do, I'll stop bothering your birds," Kula said with a sly smile. Tojo was instantly intrigued by her offer. She had been keeping a close eye on his birds and even threatened to eat one of he wouldn't join the competition. If she was willing to leave them alone then that would be perfect.

"Alright," Tojo said getting up, "You got my attention."

Good!" Kula smiled once again. Tojo rolled his eyes, whatever she wanted it wasn't going to be without causing some trouble. She then asked him: "Now tell me bird boy… you don't happen to know where I could find a gray parrot now would you?"

"A parrot?" Tojo questioned, "What for?"  
"For today's last challenge of course!"

* * *

 **Afternoon**

Nala laid in the shade of a tree next to pride rock waiting for the lionesses to return back from their afternoon hunt. She noticed the pitter patter of paws behind her. Nala turned her head to see Chumvi walking towards her.

"Hi, Chumvi," Nala said as he padded up to her.

"Hi, Nala." Chumvi greeted, "Um… I don't suppose you've seen Kula around? I can't find her anywhere."

"No, I haven't," Nala replied, "Though… now that you mention it… I haven't seen Tojo this morning either. Just his birds."

"Well I hope she's not getting herself into trouble this early in the morning," Chumvi slumped down onto the rocks, "you know how she gets."

"Well this is Kula we're talking about," Nala reasoned with a shrug, "She's not one for trouble," Nala said. Chumvi didn't respond only cocking his head and giving Nala a look that said, "really".

"Okay fine." Nala conceded, "So she can get carried away but I'm sure she's fine."

* * *

The morning quickly went by and still, there was no sign of Kula.

Simba, Nala, and Chumvi sat at the waterhole eating from the carcass of a small Impala. Simba nor Nala wanted to sit directly next to each other due to their… current state. Thankfully Chumvi was wedged in between the two so it wasn't as awkward. The chocolate brown cub looked between the two as he ate noticing that both Simba and Nala hadn't made eye contact with each other during this entire ordeal. Adding to that none of them had talked for the past hour leaving a heavy atmosphere to settle on the three of them.

"Well…" Chumvi broke the silence, "I don't know about you guys but I think it's time that we start looking for Kula and Tojo. You know that she wouldn't miss lunch for anything." The brown cub stood up from his spot.

"Wait, you haven't seen her all day?" Simba asked looking up at him.

"No, we haven't," Nala said to Simba, "she was missing from the den and it seems like she took Tojo with her. It kinda explains why the bluebirds have been hovering above us for the entire morning." At that moment Simba looked up to see the five baby bluebirds hovering above him. How he didn't notice them was strange. Maybe he was too focused on Nala for the past hour that it made him a bit oblivious.

"Well we have to find Tojo soon," Chumvi complained, "because these guys apparently think I'm a nut." As soon as he said that one of the birds landed on his head and began to rapidly peck his skull. It then ripped out the dark brown fur and flew off right as Chumvi swiped his paw in an attempt to shoo them away.

"See?" Chumvi said with an annoyed expression. He then turned around with his head still turned to Simba and Nala, "Kula or Tojo better show up in the next 5 minutes or I swear, I'll take those birds and stick them in the nearest geyser and have myself some-"

"CHUMVI!" Kula exclaimed with a love-sick grin abruptly leaping up from the grass and tackling him.

"AHHHH!" Chumvi screamed as he was forced to the ground by Kula's bear hug. The two landed in a heap with Kula straddling Chumvi her chest touching his.

"Aww, you waited for me before you ate. That's so sweet of you!" Kula beamed with her chipper smile. Chumvi was still in a dazed state as Kula licked his nose and leaped off of him taking his leftover leg and gleefully started to chow down on it.

"What did I miss?" a tired Tojo asked as he padded up to the group of cubs. Simba and Nala turned to him. Chumvi was still lying on his back recovering from the surprise hug.

"Nothing just, Kula giving Chumvi a heart attack," Simba said, "where have you two been?" That's when everyone noticed the bird that was on Tojo.

"Kula needed me to help her find someone," Tojo said as his gaze went up to the gray parrot that was perched on top of his head, "Everyone, meet Kuruka." Simba and Nala looked at his head to see the grey parrot perched on.

"Hello, loves," the grey parrot known as Kuruka greeted the group, "Tojo here says that you all need help with some sort of game that is going on. You're in luck cause I'm more than happy to help!"

Nala's curiosity was now piqued by this. Kula was definitely creative with these games, but she never expected to get a bird for it. It explains now why Tojo was missing since he was basically the bird expert of the group. Whatever she had planned Nala hoped with all her might that Simba would be able to win this. It seemed like everything she had dreamed over these last couple of days was on the line now.

* * *

After the lionesses had assembled at Kula's stage, they found that Kula had changed some things. The curtain of leaves was divided into 3 separate sections, making it so that no one would be able to see who was behind it. No doubt Kula was separating the boy's spots so that Nala wouldn't know who was doing what.

Sarafina and Sarabi were lying together in the shade, watching as Kula's brown figure rushed around the "stage" tying vines around the base of the curtain to keep it secure. One by one Simba, Tojo, and Chumvi took their places each sitting on the base of their respective rocks.

"You ready to lose today?" Chumvi taunted at Simba and Tojo.

"Ha! Fat chance," Simba said, "I'm the master of these games the only reason you guys even won was because I let you."

"Oh please…" Tojo said while rolling his eyes. Honestly, he didn't know whose ego was bigger in this competition, Simba's or Chumvi's. He didn't really care how this whole thing went down. Win or lose, he just wanted Kula to leave his birds alone.

"You guys are so immature!" Tojo tried to scold, but he let out a high-pitched voice crack at the end. This caused Simba and Chumvi to bust out into laughter as Tojo slumped back into his spot slightly blushing.

The boys and the lionesses then silenced themselves as Kula padded onto the stage.  
"Hello everyone." She announced, "and welcome to our final challenge! Over the last few days, we have tested the speed, strength, and stamina of our contestants but today we will test these boys on their most difficult challenge yet... expressing their feelings!"

Simba and Chumvi widened their eyes and let out a loud gasp while Tojo just looked at the audience of lionesses and shrugged. He didn't see the big deal. All they were doing was speaking their mind.

"Today our young bachelors will be answering questions asked by Nala from behind the curtain of vines. Each of them will relay their answers to my lovely assistant, Kuruka," Kula said she extended her arm as a small gray parrot appeared from behind the curtains and landed next to her.

"From there Kuruka will tell Nala what they answered. After all the questions are completed Nala will decide what boy she liked the most. The one behind curtain number one, the one behind curtain number two, or the one behind curtain number three. The one that she picks will be our winner." Kula explained.

This put Simba into a cold sweat. It was basically Nala's choice on who she wanted to win. He had to answer everything perfectly or else.

"To make things more interesting," Kula added, "Nala will not know which boy answered what. Each boy will have a number that will correspond to the order that they sit in. Nala will tally the points of each number to find the results of the winner."

From behind the curtain of leaves, Nala had her ear pressed against the thin green vail. It was up to her to decipher which boy was which.

 _"Come on, Nala you can do this,"_ She thought to herself, _"You've known Simba since forever! You can tell if it's him or not. You've got to."_

"Now," Kula finished, "before we get underway, I got to check on one last thing," From there Kula walked off the stage and behind a tree, with Kuruka flying after her. She then revealed to have a stash of palm tree fruits, which made the parrot squawk with glee.

"Remember our deal," Kula whispered, "Say whatever the boys tell you to say, but when it comes to 'you know who' say only what I told you. Got it?"

Kuruka rolled her eyes, "Alright, alright. Then I get the palm fruit?"

"Yes, you will," Kula stated bluntly, "Now go on! Shoo! Shoo! Everyone's waiting for you."

"Well…" Kuruka huffed as she flapped her wings, "It would seem as though Tojo was right. You are a bossy little hairball." Kula gave the parrot a questioning look, as she flew off to the boy's side of the stage.

She wasn't that bossy. Right? Whatever the case was, Kula didn't have time to argue with a flying ball of feathers. Sucking up her distaste for the parrot's choice of words, Kula smiled and walked over to Nala's side of the stage where the prize herself was pressing her ear against the curtain of leaves. Kula's eyes widened when she saw this.

 _"Oh no you don't, Nala,"_ Kula thought, _"Chumvi will be mine and mine only!"_ She then paused for a moment contemplating how creepy that sounded. She then dismissed the thought, " _eh he'll learn to love me eventually."_

Acting quickly, Kula rushed up beside her friend and pulled her back and asked her in a collected voice.

"Okay Nala, are you ready for this?" Kula's sudden appearance made Nala jump slightly. She stepped away from the veil of leaves as Kula led her off to the sidelines so that she couldn't get a good view of the stage. They then sat down together as Kula addressed the audience.

"Alright, everyone! Let's begin!" having said that, Kula looked back at Nala and asked, "Alright, Nala. You ready to choose who your future date with be with?"

"Ready as I'll ever be…" was Nala's halfhearted reply.

"Excellent!" Kula exclaimed ignoring Nala's obvious uncomfortable state, "Now, without further adieu, let's begin!"

 **AN: Yay Chapter 5 is here! Also to confirm if you guys are wondering the next chapter will be the final chapter. Thank you to every reader and reviewer on this story you have pretty much made it possible through your support. I will do my best to get it up by Saturday of next week but I made it on to the tennis team for my school. Anyways thanks for stopping by and reading this experiment collaboration of a fanfiction. I'll see you guys next week.**


	6. Are You the One?

**AN: welcome back! It's final chapter time for Kula's Game of Love! I know right it ended way too soon but I didn't want this story to be abandoned and die out, so here we are. Real Quick I just want to say thanks to .a902 and Derick Lindsay for being consistent reviewers and putting up with my insane upload schedule. You guys are the best! Also, shout out to Rouge-Lion he's an awesome friend and writer who collaborated with me to make this story while in the middle of his own. Go check out his works they're amazing fanfictions. Well, I don't want to keep you waiting any longer so let's dive in!**

Nala sat on the stage, looking at the three separate curtains in the center. Behind one of those sheets was the cub that she would be going on a date with. It was bad enough that she was the one picking, but now everyone from Pride Rock was watching. Suffice to say… Nala was a little more than nervous.

 _"Come on, Nala, you can do this,"_ she thought to herself, _"How do you know if Simba even likes you that way? How do you know you'll even pick him?"_ Nala then took a deep breath and prepared to ask the first question. Whatever the outcome, she'd at least ask about things that she would like.

So, for the first question, Nala decided to ask: "What is the best place for an adventure?" This sparked all sorts of murmurs from the lionesses, including Sarafina. Unfortunately, Sarabi had to stay back at Pride Rock due to having to take care of some royal matters, but Sarafina went anyway just to see how the competition would go. So far, it looked like her little girl was trying to weed out the winner.

 _"I wonder if she's deliberately looking for Simba."_ Sarafina thought to herself, _"Those two are always going on adventures together. Just think! She and Simba will be going on dates, and then one day they'll be married and Sarabi I will be related. They'll have the most adorable little grand cubs and they'll probably be named Kion or Kopa for a boy and Kiara for a girl!"_ Sarafina stopped for a second when she realized that she was probably going a bit overboard. They were still cubs for Pete's sake. Sure, they were betrothed, but thinking about all of that now seemed a bit… rushed. Hoping no one else noticed her little blackout, Sarafina just watched the stage as she thought to herself: _"Maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself."_

Back on the stage, the three boys heard Nala's questions each with a different reaction in their minds. The cub who was sitting in the number one spot was Tojo. He wasn't too keen for going on daring adventures, they often lead to danger and mischief and injuries. Hanging out with his birds was a much safer option. Still, this was Nala. She loved adventures. So, if he wanted to win he had better pick an acceptable answer.

Then there was Chumvi. While the chocolate brown cub enjoyed a good adventure as well as exploring the various places of the Pride Lands, he was also liked to relax a lot. It took a lot for him to just get up in the morning. Kula would wake him up by physically jumping on him or dragging him out, much to his annoyance. But still, the goal of this game was to win, so he had to say something that Nala would like.

"Well I guess I did have some fun when we all decided to go look for that river monster," Chumvi reasoned, "I bet that's something that Nala will take notice of."

The cub in the third and final spot was Simba. Of course, he was one for daring adventures and mysteries and exploring. Nala was always by his side along the way. This question almost seemed… easy?

 _"She wants know what we want in an adventure,"_ Simba thought to himself, thinking that question was obvious, _"Why would she even ask that?"_

"Okay," Kula said padding to the center of the stage breaking the silence, "Time for answers!" she then looked at the parrot and said: "Kuruka, if you would be so kind?" Kuruka nodded in return and casually hopped on over to Tojo's section of the stage. She then stuck her head inside the curtain for a brief moment before repeating the process with the other two boys.

As Kuruka was listening to the cubs' answers, Nala tried to raise her ears in hopes of getting some clue as to which boy was speaking to the parrot. But whatever Kula's did to the vines it was woven in a way that seemed to block sound out from the other side. Sighing in disappointment Nala slumped back down onto her spot once again.

The silence that hung on the stage was becoming heavier and heavier as it seemed like so much time had passed for Nala. Only the quick whispers and chirps from other animals could be heard. The poor cub became wrapped in her thoughts once again as she worried about the outcome.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kuruka popped her head out from behind to curtain and announced: "Boy number 1 answered: any place in the Pride Lands. Wherever Nala wants to go, I'll be right by her side'" The lionesses all awed as they heard this sweet little statement. Nala, however, wasn't impressed.

 _"Probably, Tojo."_ Nala thought to herself, _"He was always one for just going along with whatever everyone else."_

Then Kuruka continued: "Boy number 2 answered: Wherever they go, it will be worth it as long as he can look at her beautiful… brown… fur." Questioning looks sprung up all the audience at the sound of this answer. Even Nala was a bit confused by this answer.

 _"Brown fur?"_ Nala thought as she heard the last statement as she looked at herself, _"I'm not that dirty… am I?"_ Of course, Nala was too self-absorbed to notice the dreamy-eyed Kula next to her.

"Wow…" she sighed as she heard what Kuruka just said, "He really does think I have beautiful fur." She giggled to herself, not caring that she was the one who told the parrot to say that. Of course, Chumvi realized this as well.

"Hey!" a voice exclaimed as a paw came out of the curtain, grabbed the parrot and pulled her head back in. Kuruka was met by a rather upset Chumvi as he bared his teeth at the bird. "That wasn't what I said! I told you I liked- OW!" in response, Kuruka bit Chumvi's nose with her beak, causing him to let go of her and grab the tip of his muzzle in pain.

"Ahem," Kuruka cleared her throat as she stepped back out from the curtain, brushed herself off, and continued the competition. "Now, boy number 3 answered: the places that I look for adventure have thrills waiting behind every corner and maybe danger! It just makes it all the more fun!"

Nala was once again confused by the cryptic answer, it wasn't clear enough for her to tell if it was Simba or Chumvi who answered it. Both boys were always looking for an exciting day. Though their definition of "exciting" usually leads to some sort of trouble, it was still fun to hang out with her friends.

"Hmm…" Nala thought to herself, "I wonder…"

* * *

As the hot afternoon continued. Nala had asked 7 more questions. For her the final challenge was the most taxing to experience, not only because it was up to her to find out who was Simba, but also because she didn't know what to expect even if she did choose the golden cub, would he accept her feelings or would she be rejected and heartbroken.

Each time it seemed to be the same thing. Boy number one would say something like "Whatever you want." Which told Nala that it was definitely Tojo. Boy number two talked sweet, yet for some reason, he would throw in some rather strange descriptions. Bubbly… gorgeous… creative… amazing apatite… it all sounded very… interesting. What was even more strange was how the parrot would always seem to be dragged back behind the curtain and a painful yelp would follow before the parrot would come back out again.

Then there was boy number three. Even with the parrot speaking for him, it was clear that he would always be speaking his mind. It wasn't necessarily cheesy, or romantic, or flirty, but it definitely showed that he didn't really care what the question was about. He just wanted to have fun. Boy number three might be Simba… but Nala wouldn't put it past him to freak out under pressure and say the things like boy number two had been saying. Hopefully, this last question will make it all clear.

Simba waited anxiously for the final question that Nala had. The feelings that he had were driving him near to insanity, he just hoped that the end of this competition would offer some sort of closure on the fuzzy feelings that were currently residing in his stomach.

 _"I hope the answers I've been giving haven't been too weird,"_ Simba thought to himself, _"Like that last one. 'I enjoy long walks and a good time?' Really Simba? You had to go with something that cheesy?"_ he mentally scolded himself. After of moment of beating his head with his paw, Simba regained his composure and then leaned in towards the curtain of vines.

"Ok, final question." Nala stated, "What kept you going during the swimming competition?" Simba's eyes widened as he thought about the question.

 _"What kept me going was the thought of you going out with one of the other guys… and… I just couldn't let that happen."_ Simba thought to himself, _"But I can't tell her that! She'll think I'm weird! Then there'll be no way she'd ever pick me."_

Simba continued to ponder the different ways that he could word his answer on Nala's question. Kuruka's wings flapping caught the attention of Simba he was starting to run out of time. It only seemed like a few heartbeats later that Kuruka had stuck her head through the curtain and looked straight at Simba.

"Okay, Simba. What is your answer?" Kuruka asked.

"Um...tell Nala that….I kept going because of I...I…" Simba stuttered, unable to really think of any other good reason. Giving up he growled, "I kept going because I didn't want her to be with anyone else but me! Alright?!"

Kuruka glanced at Simba for a moment, watching as Simba suddenly put his paws over his mouth when he realized what he just said. After a moment of silence, the parrot just shrugged and left Simba and went back to the stage.

 _"Great Kings…"_ Simba worriedly thought to himself, _"I hope she picks me!"_

* * *

"Now!" Kuruka announced, "The final answers! Boy number one said that what kept him going was the thought of being able to win what he loved most in this world!" This answer earned another round of awes and coos from the audience, but Nala only groaned.

 _"Seriously?"_ she thought to herself, _"They're birds! Just… birds! What do they have that I don't have?"_

"And now for boy number two." Upon hearing this, Nala gulped. She knew that Simba was either behind curtain 2 or 3. Which one, however, remained to be seen. She just hoped this answer would help her determine which one was which. "Boy number two says that what kept him going was thinking about-"

"That's it! I've had it!" everyone suddenly gasped as the boy behind curtain number two came storming out. Nala's eyes widened when she saw who it truly was. It was Chumvi! The brown cub came storming out from behind the curtain. He didn't care about this game anymore! All this time he had been giving the bird his answers and she would say something else entirely! And to top it all off, his nose was now as red as Mufasa's mane thanks to Kuruka's constant biting! Not to mention it hurt like it was stung by a hive of bees!

"What is your problem?" Chumvi growled as he got in the parrot's face, "Why can't you just say what I tell you to say?!"

"So, you didn't mean those nice things I said about her?" Kuruka asked with a sly smile, Chumvi didn't really pay attention to Kuruka's question. He assumed she was talking about Nala.

"Don't change the subject!" Chumvi growled as the audience watched intensely, "I agree with everything you said. I think she's beautiful, I think she's pretty, I like hanging out with her, but apparently, you have to make me say it myself since you can't…" suddenly, Chumvi heard something behind him. It sounded like a miniature moan, which began to build and grow a bit louder… and louder… and louder. Turning around, Chumvi saw that Kula was sitting next to Nala, and she was practically shaking as she clenched her lips together to try and contain her absolute joy"Um…" Chumvi was at a loss for words when he saw Kula's expression and shaking body. What was going on with her? Why did she look so… excited?

"So…" the parrot smirked, "You really do like her… brown fur?" that's when Chumvi's eyes widened when he realized what the parrot just did. Everything that she had been saying wasn't to describe Nala… it was to describe Kula!

"Wait! Wait!" Chumvi panicked, seeing as how he had been put in a rather awkward position, "I didn't mean what I said! I mean, I did mean it, but I wasn't-" But it was too late.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" unable to contain herself any longer, Kula squealed with delight as she ran straight at Chumvi, tackling him and causing both of them to tumble off the stage and onto the ground.

"OH CHUMVI!" Kula exclaimed in delight as she squeezed the living daylights out of the poor cub licking his face over and over again, "Iknewyoudidn'thavefeelingsforNala!" Kula exclaimed speaking so fast it was almost incomprehensible,"IknewitIknewitIknewitIknewitIknewit! KNEW IIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!" The brown lioness cub continued to attack Chumvi's muzzle with kisses as he struggled to escape from her clutches.

Kuruka then cleared her throat, "Yes… well…" the parrot straightened up and moved on with the competition, "Moving on now boy number-"

"I've made my decision!" everyone gasped when they heard Nala suddenly stop the parrot.

"I… beg your pardon?" Kuruka replied. Nala just smiled. With knowing Tojo was number one and realizing Chumvi was boy number two, Nala didn't need to ask any more questions. It was clear on who was left. She didn't have to worry about picking the wrong person. For the entire challenge, she had a feeling but wasn't sure. Now… knowing who exactly was behind curtain number three, Nala felt a sense of confidence arise inside of her.

"B-But you haven't heard the final boy's answer," Kuruka argued.

"That's ok," Nala said calmly with a confident smirk on her face. "I don't need to."

From behind the third curtain, Simba heard everything that was going on and was now starting to sweat from nervousness. He did the best he could to make his answers the most appealing without giving away his true feelings for Nala. But after seeing Chumvi go out in front of everyone, he wondered if Nala actually like him because of that.

 _"She probably thinks he's so brave to be doing that,"_ The golden cub told himself, _"Is she really going to pick you, Simba? Simba, the arrogant, loudmouth, trouble making cub? She didn't even bother to listen to what you had to say."_ As Simba's own mind was delivering insult after insult he did the best he could to fight the tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes. There was no way that she could pick him, right?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the stage, Nala was prepared to make the final decision. After calculating the possible boy of each of the questions she had made her choice.

"Ok… this is it…" Nala thought to herself. She then took a deep breath before exhaling and announcing: "I have to say all of the boys did well in these challenges for the past four days," She started silencing the crowd of lionesses, "however, there can only be one winner and the boy that I have chosen to be the winner is…" It seemed as though the world had stopped turning for those few seconds. No one said a word waiting for Nala's answer.

"Boy number 3," Nala finished. As soon as she was done with her statement Kuruka tugged at a vine in her beak causing all the curtains to fall, revealing to everyone that the boy that Nala picked was none other than Simba!

Simba sat paralyzed in shock. Did he just hear that right? Did… Nala just really pick him?

"Congrats, Simba," Tojo said reaching out his paw for a shake.

"I won?" Simba said in a low whisper making Tojo unable to hear him.

"What?" Tojo asked, not sure if he heard Simba right, "Say that again?" Suddenly Simba sprang into the air and began jumping around the stage with glee.

"I WON!" Simba exclaimed as he continued jumping around, "YES! YES! YES! YEEEEES!" Tojo just watched in amusement as his birds, who had been sitting in the audience, came and landed next to him. With the competition over, they didn't have to stay with Kula any longer.

Nala sat amused watching the excited Simba prance about the stage.

Seeing as how Kula was still… preoccupied with hugging and kissing Chumvi to death, Kuruka walked up to the prince and tapped his shoulder with her talon. Simba immediately stopped with his celebration and sat back down his face turning red with embarrassment. Kuruka then turned to face the audience of lionesses.

"This concludes our game! With Simba as Nala's choice, they will have a date this evening," Kuruka announced. She turned her head to Tojo, "Thank you again for inviting me, Tojo. I really had a swell time."

"No problem Kuruka." Tojo smiled as the parrot flew up and landed on his head while the birds circled them, "Want to go and get some palm fruit now?"

"Certainly!" the parrot squawked with happiness as she rode the young cub off the stage, leaving only the two remaining cubs alone on the stage… Nala and Simba.

"That was quite a celebration, Simba," Nala teased as she approached the now blushing golden cub. Simba just rolled his eyes with a huff.

"I just got excited that's all." Simba defended, trying not to hint that he really… liked her. Nala eyed Simba looking at his light paws and up to the tuft of fur on his head, she could tell that winning wasn't the only thing he was excited about.

"Well okay. If you say so." Nala shrugged, deciding not to push Simba anymore that he already has. As the lionesses began to disperse, Nala saw her mother in the back. Knowing that it was probably a good time to go home and get ready for the night.

"I'm going to get a bath from my Mom, I don't want to smell after being in the sun all day," Nala said with a smile, "I'll meet you at the bottom of Pride Rock before the sun starts to set, Ok?" she then padded away walking back to Pride Rock to meet her mother. Simba was left alone thinking about Nala's last statement.

She was getting ready… for tonight… for their date! _"I have to find Mom,"_ Simba thought to himself he then quickly dashed off to the rock piles beside Pride Rock. As Simba ran off, the stage was left barren of all animals… except two.

"Help!" Chumvi exclaimed as he tried to drag himself back home his face wet from Kula's kisses. He no longer cared that he lost this dumb game, he just wanted to get this crazy girl off of him! "Can somebody please do something?!"

"Oh, Chumvi!" Kula swooned nuzzling his face, "I knew deep down you had feelings for me all along! Just think, now that you don't have to hide it from me any longer, we can go on a date ourselves! Wouldn't that be fun?" Upon hearing this, Chumvi let out a desperate, agonizing cry as he gradually began to drag himself back home… with a love-stricken Kula clutching his torso.

* * *

Back at Pride Rock, Sarabi laid on a large rock awaiting the arrival of her mate back from patrolling the border of the Pride Lands. She didn't know what to expect after learning that her son won Kula's game. According to some lionesses, Simba was excitedly prancing about the stage happily as could be. It wasn't something that Sarabi expected to come from her son. Usually, he would always respond to things like dating with an, "eww that's gross!" reaction.

 _"Perhaps this is the start of a change of mind?"_ Sarabi thought to herself, _"Maybe it was the right decision to betrothed Simba and Nala."_

Sarabi turned her head to look at the start of the setting sun. It's bright yellow figure starting to glow orange and sinking into the sky. Her thoughts were then disrupted by the padding sound of Simba running down the slope of rocks.

"Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom!" Simba shouted repeatedly. He skidded to a halt right in front of Sarabi.

"Woah slow down," Sarabi chuckled as Simba began to catch his breath, "What is all of this?"

"Um…" Simba started sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "Can… I have a bath?"

Sarabi was taken aback by her son's request, "I'm sorry? What?"

Simba groaned annoyed and rolled his eyes, "Can I please have a bath, Mom?" Simba repeated. Sarabi looked at her son and then smiled warmly before starting to lick the top of her son's head.

"Mom!" Simba cried out, but the moment Sarabi stopped and looked at him curiously, he simply replied, "Just… try not to mess up my mane, ok?"

* * *

Nala was sitting at the base of Pride Rock waiting for Simba. The sun had started its slow descent, the orange ball nearing the horizon line. Nala let out a sigh of frustration.

"Where is he?" Nala asked herself pacing the floor.

"Hey, Nala!" a voice spoke from behind her Nala turned around to see Simba padding towards her. His fur was groomed and the dirt that was usually present in his fur was gone making it stand out in a brilliant orange as the sun's glow shined on him. Nala's heart started to beat faster and she could feel her face starting to turn crimson.

On the other hand, Simba was having the same reaction. Nala's also had her fur groomed making her appear prettier than she usually was. The two cubs continued to stare at each other for a couple minutes before Simba snapped out of his thoughts.

"So...Nala… where do you want to go?" Simba said. Nala then shook her head bringing herself back to reality.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Simba!" Nala said, "I got a bit distracted." She paused for a moment before realizing where she wanted to show Simba, "Oh! I know I've got the perfect place to go!" She then started to run in the tall grass. Simba then chased after her. Simba watched as Nala bounded through the pride lands. He found himself once entranced again by Nala's figure.

 _"She is so beautiful,"_ Simba thought to himself as they ran. Eventually, Nala stopped running when they had reached the bottom of a large cliff by the gorge. An opening was covered by a layer of plants making a green wall block what seemed to be an entrance.

"What is this place, Nala?" Simba asked.

"In order to keep me in the game, Kula promised me a portion of her food and the location to her hiding spot," Nala explained. Simba's eyes widened.

"No way!" Simba said. Nala smiled and pulled back the vines to reveal a small clearing inside the gorge with grass and a perfect view of the setting sun.

"Woah!" Simba exclaimed as the two padded into the small clearing, "Cool!"

"Yeah I know, Kula picked a good spot to hide her stash of food," Nala said. Eventually, the two sat down on the small plain watching the bright orange sky turning darker and darker. A silence settled between them for a moment.

"Hey, Nala," Simba asked

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to know…" Simba paused for a moment.

"What is it Simba?" Nala asked leaning in closer to Simba.

"Why didn't you let me tell you my answer at the end of the game?" Simba asked. Nala froze for a bit she didn't want to give away that she had a crush on Simba. She had to be careful how she worded her answer.

"I… I guess I just knew," Nala said stepping closer to Simba, "All that talk of being daring, and doing what you want to do, and just enjoying yourself… it… it just sounded so like you. I just knew when I heard that statement that if anyone was that bold and daring then it was you."

Simba was surprised by Nala's statement. He didn't expect that coming from his best friend.

"Really? Because honestly, I thought that-" Simba was cut off by Nala putting her head under Simba's chin and slightly nuzzling him. His eyes widened from shock and his face turned redder than the orange sky.

Eventually, Simba closed his eyes and started to nuzzle back. Nala's fur was warm and soft a contrast to the usual rough texture of his fur. Nala felt Simba nuzzling her and she could help but let out a purr. Simba heard and felt the vibrations of it and let out a purr of his own. The two sat together continuing to rub against each other as the sun sank and the moon rose against the now red sky.

* * *

From above the small clearing in the gorge, Tojo, Kuruka and the bluebirds we're lying down watching their friends exchange the action of affection with each other.

"I knew they always had something for each other," Tojo said.

"Yeah it was obvious that they had feelings the way he kept stuttering," Kuruka remarked. The bluebirds began to chirp in agreement as well.

"Well boys," Tojo said to the gang, "I think we better leave them alone now. They deserve it. As the cub and the flock of birds got up to leave, they saw in the distance something slowly crawling on the ground. As they got closer they saw that it was none other than Chumvi, with Kula still holding him tightly.

"Chumvi?!" Tojo asked in surprise, seeing his friend with a damp muzzle and his fur scraggly and dirty, "What happened to you?"

"Take… a wild… guess!" growled the cub. Tojo and the birds looked back to see that Kula was not only still holding Chumvi by his stomach, but she apparently was also asleep unconsciously nuzzling his flank. How she continued to remain latched on to the cub was beyond anyone's understanding.

"Well now…" the grey parrot chuckled, "it looks like Simba isn't the only one with a date tonight." This earned a laugh from the group but Chumvi wasn't amused.

"I swear…" the brown cub growled as he looked down at Kula, "one day, Kula. One of these days…"

Back in the clearing, Nala was sitting with Simba. Her head rested on his shoulder, slightly purring, and watching the last bits of the sun slip into the darkening night sky. It was so much like a dream… yet this time it was actually real.

"Simba." Nala started

"Yeah?" Simba raised an eyebrow at his best friend.

"Promise me that we'll always be friends no matter what happens, ok?" Nala asked slightly rubbing her head up against his chin.

"I promise, Nala," Simba said. He then felt something warm swipe at the bottom of his face. The prince then realized that Nala had just licked his cheek.

"Thanks, Simba." She replied with a warm smile. The two then resumed their position as the night entered the Savannah without a care in the world.

 **AN: Holy crap this was a long chapter to write. Sorry for keeping Y'all waiting for 9 days but you know school stuff and sports and writer's block got in the way. And yes I know that lions can't purr. But if Kiara can in TLK 2 then I'm assuming that all the other lions can in TLK universe. I want to thank all of the readers who made it this far I really appreciate you stopping by to read this weird little story that I originally planned to be a one-shot for Valentine's Day.**

 **As of now, I'm putting my series on hold to work with Rouge-Lion and .a902 to write** _ **In a Perfect World.**_ **It will be posted on Rouge Lion's profile, so go check him out he is an amazing writer, one of the best out there in this fandom and I'm really honored to be able to work with him for this story. Until next time the Candy Man is out. PEACE!**


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